IT'S HUNTING SEASON

Broken bats still come in the mail with notes asking Roger Clemens to sign above the jagged line.

"I don't have a problem with it," Clemens said, rolling his eyes. "I just sign 'em and send 'em back."

Even his older brother Richard got into the act. During the off-season, Roger stopped by his brother's booth at the big barbecue cook-off in Houston. Richard told him he had an award for him.

"It was a [broken] bat, signed by everyone in the booth," Clemens said.

He has 260 career victories and last October, buried the notion that he cannot dominate postseason games. But Roger Clemens may forever be remembered for the means, not the end.High, tight pitches, including the one that hit the Mets' Mike Piazza in the head last July 8, and the angry words and hype that followed. Then the culmination, his bizarre throwing of a broken bat in Piazza's direction during Game 2 of the World Series. All could threaten Clemens' legacy.

A new edict is aimed at Clemens' livelihood. Clemens, who is appealing the $50,000 fine levied by the commissioner's office during the World Series, and his style of pitching were immediately returned to baseball's front burner Thursday as he arrived at Legends Field for his annual physical exam. Frank Robinson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, has sent a memo to umpires "reinforcing" their authority to eject a pitcher without warning if they believe he has intentionally thrown at a batter's head. Umpires union head John Hirschbeck said under these guidelines, Clemens would have been ejected from Game 4 of the ALCS last year. In the first inning of that game, he threw a fastball up and in to Alex Rodriguez, a pitch that did not come very close to hitting the batter. With more than 20 umpires beginning this season with less than two years' experience, there is no telling how the memo will be played out.

"Roger is being made an example of," Torre said. "It takes a weapon away. I don't mean throwing at people, but the ability to keep a batter from feeling comfortable at the plate. That's a pitcher's job."

Clemens said he does not plan to change his approach to pitching.

"I don't think you'd find many pitchers who wind up to throw at a guy's head," Clemens said. "If you need a brushback, or retaliation, or whatever word you want to use, you can throw it four feet over a batter's head and get it done. ... But I learned a long time ago you can't survive if you don't pitch inside. And when you pitch inside, [if you miss] you have to miss inside. You can't miss out over the plate."

The controversies marred a renaissance 2000 for Clemens, 38, who finished 13-8 with a 3.70 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 204 1/3 innings. After his groin injury healed, Clemens, who signed a three-year contract extension in August, was clocked above 95 mph consistently. After losing twice to Oakland in the Division Series, he pitched a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts in Seattle and shut out the Mets for eight innings in Game 2 of the Subway Series. Clemens, after another winter of vigorous conditioning, would appear to have plenty in his tank for a run at 300 victories, a milestone that would place him securely among the great pitchers in history.

"I'm not concerned about [what people think]," Clemens said. "My numbers speak for themselves. I pitch the way I pitch. I don't hit a lot of guys, but I do pitch inside. I've done so many more things in this game as far as numbers and records and awards that it outweighs whatever people want to make of it."

If baseball is trying to take something away from Clemens' game, it is also giving some territory. The "new strike zone," which is expected to give the pitcher the high strike, would benefit Clemens and his high hard stuff.

"I like to pitch up in the zone," Clemens said. "There can be advantages to that. But I'll have to see it. I'll throw it anywhere I can get [a strike called]. I know how to make adjustments."

Torre, Steinbrenner To Talk

George Steinbrenner walked into Torre's office and said, "When things quiet down, we'll have lunch." That lunch will be the start of discussions for a contract extension. Torre has said he wants to manage past this season, the last of his contract, but is in no hurry for things to be done. "Whenever," he said. "I know the last time we made a deal it was during [the 1998] playoffs, so if we can talk then, we can talk any time." ... The Yankees announced the signing of veteran outfielder Henry Rodriguez, 33, to a one-year contract. A left-handed batter who figures to play part-time in left and DH and pinch hit, Rodriguez hit .256 with 20 homers and 61 RBI in 112 games for the Cubs and Marlins last year. The Yankees were interested in acquiring him in a trade last June and appeared to have an agreement with him (for $1.5 million this season) more than a month ago. ... Mariano Rivera was excused from reporting Thursday. He had the flu and did not want to fly from Panama. He is expected for the first scheduled workouts today. His agents and the Yankees are closing in on a four-year contract that would avoid arbitration. ... Torre expects outfielder Shane Spencer, coming back from a torn right ACL, to be ready when position players report Monday.